Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's rhetoric is completely disconnected from reality. He said that Canada would be the best economy in the G7, yet he has delivered the worst, as 100,000 jobs are gone in two months. Here is Canada's G7 record. Canada has the only shrinking economy, the highest food inflation, the highest household debt and the second-highest unemployment. He continues to point to glo…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his avid defence of religious freedom in this chamber, at committee and across this entire country. I was listening to the arguments from the Liberals and they seem to not take religious freedom seriously. They chalk it up to a fundraising scheme. I was wondering if my hon. colleague could lay out exactly why a defence of religious freedom is so important…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives would like to put forward a supplementary report. Canada's defence industrial capacity must be understood as part of the broader national strategy of sovereignty and resilience. As Canada enters a more uncertain geopolitical era, economic strength, energy, security, technological capability and military readiness are increasingly inseparable. Stated plainly, we view …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak to Bill C-242, the jail not bail act, at second reading. It was put forward by my friend and colleague, the hon. member for Oxford, and I am proud to have seconded the legislation. I just listened to the Liberal government's narrative of our perspective on crime, and it is an alternative universe. This bill, the jail not bail act, was announced i…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, fraudulent and rejected asylum claims are straining a health care system that millions of Canadians cannot fully access. The interim federal health program's costs have more than quadrupled in four years, from $211 million to $896 million, and they are projected to reach $1.5 billion by 2029. At committee, we learned that providers are billing taxpayers up to five times the provincial…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada's housing market is sending alarming signals. New home sales in the GTA have fallen to their lowest point in 45 years, putting up to a hundred thousand jobs at risk. Across major markets, sales are down sharply, while builders report layoffs and are having growing concern about their ability to stay afloat. At the same time, home ownership among Canadians 30 years old to 34 yea…
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Mr. Speaker, it is very important that we support our oil and gas sector in this country. We know that because our country is currently under threat from an American trade war, and our number one resource and number one driver of the economy is our natural resources. We have among the strictest environmental regulations in the entire world, and we make some of the cleanest products here in Canada.…
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Mr. Speaker, it is great news that a small portion of the EVs that are actually sold have parts that are manufactured in Canada. However, does the member know what would further increase the parts made in Canada? It is if the Liberal government would take our plan and remove the GST from new car purchases. That would signal to the industry and to consumers that we are serious about getting the ind…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. As acting opposition whip, I approve of the amendment proposed earlier to the motion.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said in my speech, I find it very perplexing that at a time when we are under an unprecedented attack on our auto industry from the American President through tariffing one of our key sectors, the plan for our auto strategy encompasses within it this idea that we are going to subsidize vehicles that are mostly made in the United States. It absolutely makes no sense. What does tha…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise on behalf of the great people in the great riding of Vaughan—Woodbridge. This is my first opportunity to rise in the House of Commons following the tragic and devastating news coming out of Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. Like many people in the House, I have to say that as a father it is hard to even imagine the pain and the suffering that these families are …
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Mr. Speaker, last week, a man in Woodbridge was gunned down in broad daylight. This week, a home in Vaughan was targeted for a shooting for the fourth time in five months. Now the York Regional Police chief has said that police service will not participate in the federal Liberal government's gun grab, because it does not address the underlying sources of gun crime. Most provinces and territories h…
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Mr. Speaker, a new report shows that 10% of all Canadian small businesses have been wiped out since 2020 as new closures outpace start-ups. The Bank of Canada now says that it expects only 1.1% GDP growth next year, that businesses are delaying expansion plans, and that growth in business investment is forecast to remain flat for 2026. Businesses do not want to invest here, because regulations and…
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Mr. Speaker, other countries are growing faster because they are cutting red tape and encouraging investment. Meanwhile, here in Canada, over 121,000 small businesses have closed since 2020. Domestic growth is shaped by the overall investment climate. Canadian businesses are postponing projects, productivity is falling and small businesses are closing at alarming rates. The Prime Minister promised…
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Mr. Speaker, we have supported, and are in favour of, these provisions in the bill. Just to be clear, we think the bill needs to be split, specifically around the provisions with respect to mandatory minimums, because the bill is essentially a test. What it would do is open up for debate, again, all past rulings where a particular sentencing was deemed unconstitutional. It would remove the guardra…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today to bring forward this petition in support of a group of people who want to draw the attention of the House of Commons to some of their concerns surrounding the Bloc and Liberal amendments to Bill C-9. The petitioners are urging us to look at this and understand that it could be used to criminalize passages of the Bible, the Torah, the Quran and other s…
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Mr. Speaker, I would first like to take this opportunity to recognize Waves of Changes for Autism, a charity in Vaughan that is celebrating its 10th anniversary. I would like to congratulate Ellen Contardi and her entire board for all their efforts over the years. Waves of Changes for Autism helps families that have children with autism. It helps them offset the cost of therapies. It has funded ov…
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for that statement, although, unfortunately, much of it is placed in some alternate universe that must exist out there. As everyone is well aware, Conservatives have been advocating for a tough-on-crime agenda for years at this point. We supported sending Bill C-14 to committee for study, yet it was put behind Bill C-9. Then the Liberals decided to use their time …
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Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the hon. member for his comments, although they seem to be derived from an alternate universe. The facts on the ground are that Conservatives have always supported and advocated for tougher sentencing laws and have wanted the government to get tough on crime. Bill C-14 was introduced on October 23. We advanced that bill to committee on November 18 with the understanding…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals' own ideology has finally gotten in the way because public safety has become too politically inconvenient for them to ignore. As I said earlier, we have been advocating for tougher sentencing laws and bail reform for years at this point. We are ready to advance bail legislation. We are ready to get serious on cracking down on crime and criminals, keeping them behind bars …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the York Regional Police recently arrested a man accused of extorting a Vaughan resident for seven years through threats and violence. Extortion is not a talking point; it is impacting real Canadians. Now Liberals are spreading falsehoods. Let us look at bail reform. The Liberals tabled bail changes on October 23. We agreed to send the bill to committee on November 18, and until yeste…
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Mr. Speaker, Canada now faces the highest food inflation in the G7. The government's responses relied largely on short-term relief measures that may ease pressure temporarily, but do nothing to address the underlying drivers of rising food costs. Food affordability requires deeper structural action. Conservatives have put forward practical solutions, including eliminating the industrial carbon tax…
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Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House on behalf of the residents in Vaughan—Woodbridge. I am sure my colleague is as concerned as I am, considering he comes from an area in the country where extortion is very prevalent, that over at the justice committee, we are seeing the Liberals constantly vote down motions to bring their own bail reform ahead of all of the other legislation…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, week after week, parents in Vaughan—Woodbridge tell me they fear their children will never be able to afford a home. Home ownership is a key milestone in adulthood. It is a rite of passage for Canadian families, yet under Liberals, that dream is slipping away. After promising half a million new homes, the Liberals now admit their new housing bureaucracy will deliver only a fraction of…
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Mr. Chair, I was alarmed to learn that the minister apparently had not read the contract, because we heard at committee that she kept saying, “Read the contract; it is in the contract”. Which clause is that? It was always some clause in some contract we had not seen. Now we are learning not only that has she not read but also that apparently the legal team may not have read it. With respect to my …
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Mr. Chair, what we have seen with the Stellantis deal, where billions of dollars were laid out in both subsidies and direct investment to advance EV battery plants, and what we are seeing in the industry with respect to the number of individuals, consumers, who actually want to purchase these products, is that the demand is not there. Not only are we shelling out money for things that do not make …
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Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for giving me an opportunity to point out that yes, while tariffs have been the catalyst, for the last 10 years we have dealt with serious structural problems in our economic environment and a structural issue around regulation. Our country is so overly regulated that we are actually approaching the point of miracle in this country. We have a tax framew…
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Mr. Chair, I rise tonight to speak about an industry that is at the cornerstone of Canada's manufacturing power. Canada's auto industry is not just an economic engine; it is the economic heartbeat of provinces like Ontario and Quebec, pumping roughly $14 billion into our GDP and keeping more than 120,000 families in the middle class. Every job in an assembly plant supports nine or more in the wide…
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Mr. Speaker, ministers need to be accountable for government programs and obligations and the treaties they sign that they choose to implement. We see a theme happening over and over again in the House by the Liberal government. Every time a program introduced by the government, like a treaty in this case, is signed off on and fails to get implemented properly, the solution from the government see…
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Mr. Speaker, I think the Conservative record on indigenous relationships is clear. When Prime Minister Harper held office, we signed and implemented five modern treaties in six years. We always stand with indigenous people. We stand with reconciliation and with all first nations people.
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Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General, who was deemed an expert on this issue years ago when the reports were done, already highlighted the significant gaps in the implementation of modern treaties. That is why we are questioning the need for a brand new bureaucracy that is going to ramp up costs. If we already have an Auditor General who has highlighted the gaps, all we need now is direct ministerial …
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Mr. Speaker, we understand why indigenous people are pushing for this. It is because they are frustrated. They are frustrated with the government's failure to follow the findings from the reports of the Auditor General and actually implement the solutions that have been highlighted. Where we deviate from the government is that we think we need to follow the reports and enforce the rules already on…
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise again in this chamber on behalf of the people of Vaughan—Woodbridge. Today, we are debating Bill C-10, the commissioner for modern treaty implementation act. The bill would create a new officer of Parliament supported by a new federal office, with a mandate to review and audit how federal departments implement modern treaties. The commissioner would examine t…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Madam Speaker, every time the Prime Minister talks trade, it seems Brookfield comes out ahead and Canadians get left behind. He travels to Washington, and Brookfield gets an $80-billion nuclear deal. He travels to the U.K., and Brookfield gets money from the European Space Agency. He hosts Swedish royalty in Canada, and Brookfield announces an AI deal even before they land back in Stockholm. Now t…
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Mr. Speaker, for years now, we have been hearing that investments will equal growth, but all we have is more debt and a slower economy. Second, the government often loves to talk about net debt. The Liberals selectively use the term net debt versus growth debt measures, and they tend to ignore provincial and subnational debt. When we take those into consideration, as a lot of other countries do fo…
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Mr. Speaker, it is a great privilege to rise on behalf of the residents of Vaughan—Woodbridge. I rise today to speak to budget 2025 and the choice it represents for our country: whether we return to fiscal sanity and economic hope or we keep layering new debt and new bureaucracy on top of the old problems we refuse to fix. Canadians remember how we got here. I want to take everyone back to just on…
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Mr. Speaker, I have been pretty clear on that. We are not supporting this budget because it doubles the deficit. It adds over $320 billion to the national debt. That is money we could be paying to health care transfers. It is more money than we collect from GST. There could be more money for programs that people need. Instead, we are mortgaging away the future of our children and our grandchildren…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians are losing hope. We hear it at the doors every single day. People are finding it harder and harder to get ahead. We see the statistics. There are 2.2 million people lining up at food banks. Can members believe that? In this great country, 2.2 million people are lining up at food banks and 700,000 of them are children. Young people cannot find jobs. They cannot afford housing…
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concerns. This budget is typical of a Liberal government. It promises everything and delivers nothing. We have never seen a budget that spends so much money and delivers almost nothing for individuals, nothing tangible. Could we expect any more? We have been living this nightmare for the last 10 years. There is so much more that could have been done to create th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, in the city of Vaughan, York Regional Police recently charged a local man with four counts of extortion. This is just one case among countless all across the country. In fact extortion is up 330% since 2015 all across the country, but despite this, the current Liberal Minister of Justice voted against our Conservative plan to end the extortion crisis last year. The Liberals could have…
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Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague gave an excellent speech. The member comes from the Vaughan area, essentially exactly where my riding is, and she knows all too well the serious consequences that we have had in our community with respect to crime. At one point we had seven shootings in just three weeks in our community. Something definitely needs to be done. I have been listening to this debate, and…
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Madam Speaker, the only people who seem to want a Christmas election are the members of the Liberal government. Canadians do not want Liberals to force a costly election; they want an affordable budget. The Liberal government does not seem to get it. There are record Liberal deficits and a record number of people who cannot afford food, with 2.2 million people lining up at food banks, over 700,000…
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Madam Speaker, Food Banks Canada has reported a record-smashing 2.2 million visits to the food bank in just one month, the most ever. The CEO of Food Banks Canada said she is shocked that people are stopping at the food bank on their way home from work because they cannot afford groceries. She said, “It's really shocking to see just how far people are falling behind every single [day].” After a de…
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Mr. Speaker, certainly in the time period we have just gone through, when crime has become increasingly of concern, we are witnesses to the fact that serious repeat offenders constantly out on bail are constantly committing crimes. This is not new. We hear this from police associations, victim advocacy groups, premiers and municipal governments. Clearly, we have to start with federal legislation, …
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Mr. Speaker, Conservatives would like nothing more than bail reform and sentence reform to be passed immediately. That is why we introduced our jail not bail act. We put forward the serious amendments that are needed to the bail system to facilitate the conditions that will keep repeat violent offenders in prison. I, for one, am all for having this legislation move to committee. At committee, we h…
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Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to rise today to speak to Bill C-14, an act that proposes long-awaited reforms to Canada's bail and sentencing framework. At the outset, let me just say that Conservatives welcome this legislation. We have been calling for meaningful bail reform for years at this point. We have stood alongside police associations, provincial governments and victims' advocates to push f…
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Mr. Speaker, if their policies worked, why are over 700,000 children lining up at food banks? The Prime Minister promised that he would be judged by the costs at the grocery store. Well, the verdict is in. Food inflation is up 4%. We now have 2.2 million people visiting food banks in a single month, and by the federal government's own analysis, a $1.3-billion food packaging tax is baked right into…
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Mr. Speaker, it comes down to a lack of attention to the problem, in my view. We have been sounding the alarm for a while now that having drug consumption sites next to schools and day cares is completely unacceptable. It is an infringement on the morals we hold deep in this country to keep drugs and crime away from children. We know these areas are riddled with drugs and criminal activity. We hop…
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Mr. Speaker, I share my colleague's concern and disbelief, frankly, because what we have seen over and over again with the Liberals is they say one thing and do nothing. As we know, so far no new border agents have been hired, and we certainly support the hiring of more border service agents to ensure we have widespread security across our border.
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Mr. Speaker, in the Supreme Court's decision in R v. Lloyd, the Supreme Court ruled that the government should narrow its scope for mandatory minimum sentencing, and that is exactly what I spoke about in my speech. We should narrow the scope and target it toward people who are trafficking, importing and producing fentanyl. We should target it toward organized crime and, as we said before, have the…
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